HHS to Darrell Issa: We don’t trust you
By: Jonathan Allen, Politico.com
December 12, 2013 03:45 PM EST
The Health and Human Services Department told House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa that it won’t turn over documents related to the security of the Healthcare.gov website because it can’t trust him to keep secret information that could give hackers a roadmap to wreak havoc on the system.
Issa has issued a subpoena to MITRE, a government contractor, to turn over unredacted copies of security-testing documents by noon Friday. At issue are website development plans MITRE drafted for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is under HHS. Already, Issa has been given access to the documents he seeks “in camera” — meaning committee staff were able to review them in a room but not keep them — but he is seeking physical copies.
In a letter Thursday, Assistant Secretary for Legislation Jim Esquea told Issa that “the committee’s unwillingness to commit to undertake measures to address the security risks associated with further disclosure is troubling, particularly in light of reports that sensitive materials were disclosed through various investigations.” Administration officials worry that Issa intends to put them in the public domain, which Esquea argues could compromise the security of the site.
“As you are aware, MITRE shares our assessment regarding the risks from public disclosure of these documents and has warned, most recently in its letter of December 4, 2013, that the information they contain ‘could be used to hack the system … and may pose a risk to the confidentiality of consumer information accessible through healthcare.gov if disclosed,” Esquea wrote, further offering to let a third party determine whether their publication could imperil the website.
(More here.)
December 12, 2013 03:45 PM EST
The Health and Human Services Department told House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa that it won’t turn over documents related to the security of the Healthcare.gov website because it can’t trust him to keep secret information that could give hackers a roadmap to wreak havoc on the system.
Issa has issued a subpoena to MITRE, a government contractor, to turn over unredacted copies of security-testing documents by noon Friday. At issue are website development plans MITRE drafted for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is under HHS. Already, Issa has been given access to the documents he seeks “in camera” — meaning committee staff were able to review them in a room but not keep them — but he is seeking physical copies.
In a letter Thursday, Assistant Secretary for Legislation Jim Esquea told Issa that “the committee’s unwillingness to commit to undertake measures to address the security risks associated with further disclosure is troubling, particularly in light of reports that sensitive materials were disclosed through various investigations.” Administration officials worry that Issa intends to put them in the public domain, which Esquea argues could compromise the security of the site.
“As you are aware, MITRE shares our assessment regarding the risks from public disclosure of these documents and has warned, most recently in its letter of December 4, 2013, that the information they contain ‘could be used to hack the system … and may pose a risk to the confidentiality of consumer information accessible through healthcare.gov if disclosed,” Esquea wrote, further offering to let a third party determine whether their publication could imperil the website.
(More here.)
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